Fred, who had been listening to the others talk, couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth beneath his helmet.
He had to admit, Mickey was quite well-informed—even though the information was supposed to be sealed, he still managed to get wind of a little of it.
Though really, it was only a little.
Probably because Lenore didn't want to take all the credit for herself, so she hadn't claimed the entirety of the achievement.
This created a gap in the publicity, which ordinary people might not notice, but for elites like them, it naturally sparked curiosity.
And Patrick hadn't just picked anyone to fill that position either.
Aside from showing how much he valued Fred, there was likely also an intention to protect Lenore.
After all, if Lenore had truly led the research to completion on her own, the Atlantic Federation would likely intensify their assassination attempts against her.
This vacancy not only demonstrated preferential treatment for Fred but also served as a deliberate smokescreen.
For Patrick, it was killing two birds with one stone.
And for Fred, it wasn't bad either.
After all, even if he could let things go, seeing someone else flaunting his achievements would still be quite revolting.
"Alright, let's get ready for training."
Fred thought, and at the same time, he interrupted their casual chatter with a serious tone.
"Hey, Captain, aren't you curious at all?"
Having worked together for nearly a year now, Mickey spoke with familiarity.
"Not really. As long as we protect this world, that's enough."
Fred said.
"The Captain is still the Captain."
Another team member on the communication channel remarked with a sigh.
Everyone else fought for PLANT and ZAFT, but their captain had turned it into fighting for world peace.
Yet they didn't dislike it.
Although the goal seemed too grand, Fred gave them the feeling that he might actually succeed.
Moreover, he was stronger than them—stronger in every aspect.
So it was impossible for them to mock him.
Hearing Fred's words, Alec, also in his Mobile Suit, couldn't help but smile silently.
Of course he wasn't curious—after all, he was that researcher.
Just as they were chatting and preparing for training, alarms suddenly blared across all their Mobile Suits simultaneously.
Shattering the lively atmosphere.
"An Atlantic Federation fleet is coming?"
Fred squinted at the warning displayed before him.
Just one fleet—one Agamemnon-class with twelve Drake-class escorts. Although ZAFT's main fleet had just departed, there was no way this formation could break through their defenses here. So why were they coming?
Fred's thoughts raced, and soon a suspicion formed in his mind.
"Captain! Let's head over too!"
Mickey's voice interrupted Fred's thoughts.
They were militia, not a professional military organization.
When an attack was detected, any Mobile Suit training in this Space Sector could participate in the defense.
There was no complicated command structure.
Or rather, Fred was the commander of this small team.
This command system also maximally eliminated the difficulties of information transmission caused by cosmic distances and the communication problems posed by the Future Neutron Jammer.
Fred paused for a moment upon hearing this, then continued.
"Second squad, go assist the defenders. First squad, follow me."
"Understood."
Though puzzled, Fred's prestige had long been deeply ingrained in their minds, and no one objected or raised questions upon hearing his orders.
After saluting, they began their operation.
"Captain, what are we doing?"
Orphee asked Fred, who was piloting the High Mobility GINN beside him.
The direction they were heading wasn't toward the front facing Earth—that position didn't look like where enemy forces would appear.
"The attack in front might just be a feint."
"There might be another force out there."
"Then why not head toward Junius City?"
Orphee asked.
"Junius City's direction is already defended; they probably won't attack there."
"And this direction is the rear of PLANT. If a space colony here goes out of control, it could trigger an interlocking system reaction, endangering other colonies."
As Fred explained, a series of strategic maps appeared on the screens before them.
Junius City—they had already deployed many people to defend it, and the colony itself had been modified, so it was essentially secure.
As for the main battlefield, although their main force wasn't there, with Jachin Due, their defensive power was immense—there was no way such a small fleet could break through.
As for this location they were heading to, there were defenders too, but definitely not as many as the front.
To prevent a feint from the east while attacking the west, Fred had come here.
Although the original story said they would attack Junius City.
He had changed too many things.
Blindly following the plot was also inadvisable.
If anything, Valentine's Day hadn't even arrived yet.
Of course, there were some things Fred didn't explain to them in detail.
For example, they had deployed quite a few alarms and such outside.
Although the alarms hadn't been triggered, their signals had been disrupted by solar flares—not enough to render them useless, but their detection capability had dropped drastically.
While they could still provide early warning, it was hard to say what stage the enemy's Mirage Particle research had reached.
If he were the enemy commander, he would definitely seize this opportunity.
As for whether striking civilian territories would violate the law—
Fred didn't think the other side would care about that.
Meanwhile, the others who had heard Fred's explanation all nodded in succession, accepting it.
After all, their captain had been uncannily accurate in the previous operations, so they wouldn't disobey his orders.
The only question was whether danger would arise.
Just as this thought surfaced in everyone's minds in perfect unison, the alarms on their instruments blared once again.
[Enemy warships: behind August City, Orange Zone, distance 3000]
[Enemy forces: Agamemnon-class ×1, Drake ×6, Moebius ×12, others unknown.]
[Nearby squads, please provide support immediately.]
Seeing this message, everyone froze for a moment, then their expressions turned grim rather than excited.
Although their captain had been right, this also meant that what they were about to face was an ambush force from the Atlantic Federation.
The decoys in front might not be aces, but the troops coming to ambush them absolutely were.
Moreover, with numbers like this, it was comparable to a main force—they had no idea how the enemy had managed to circle around to their rear so quickly.
"Don't worry too much—we have the garrison."
Fred broke the silence as he heard the heavy breathing gradually rising through the channel.
As the young man's words fell, three Laurasia-class ships appeared at the port inside August City right before their eyes, followed by over a dozen GINNs.
Based on the officially published loss ratios, that should be sufficient. The only thing to watch out for was whether any of those Moebius units darting around were carrying nuclear warheads.
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